The invention relates to the building and construction industry. Specifically, it relates to a new symbolic visual metric marking method applied to construction materials for the purpose of allowing installers to:    1. Visually determine accurate orientation and alignment of construction materials to their underlying support structure and attachments, without repeated measurement, during installation.    2. Visually determine size (and therefore suitability) of construction material remnants, without repeated measurement, when selecting a material remnant item for installation.    3. Aid in the act of attaching construction materials to the underlying support structure by providing a visual reference to guide installers during the installation of material fastening devices.
This invention further aids building inspectors in their determination of an installation site's compliance with building codes and standards regarding spacing and fastening.
Products used in the construction and maintenance of buildings such as plywood, paneling, drywall board, building paper, roofing products, and carpeting, are provided by the manufacturers in accordance with size and shape standards convenient to both the materials manufacturers and construction industries utilizing those materials.
Architects, designers, contractors and installers of those materials at the job site rely on the standardized shapes and utilize them in concert with their skills, experience and relevant construction standards, blueprints and building codes to create safe and reliable buildings. To achieve quality construction at economical cost, the construction industry must make optimum use of both labor and materials. This translates directly into minimizing wasted time and materials at the job site while meeting the standardized construction practice requirements specified in building codes.
Frequently during construction full-size units of material require accurate trimming for installation in a given position. This process generates remnant items of material which require additional measuring and cutting prior to use. Efficient use of these remnants challenges contractors, supervisors and installers with the problem of accurately determining and cataloging accurate knowledge of the remnant's dimensions so that the remnant product may efficiently used in an appropriate position. At large construction sites this can be a formidable task.
Regardless of the type of product, the common and accepted practice in today's construction industry requires a workman to translate actual measurements of the intended installation location and materials at hand. There are always sufficient slight deviations in installation technique and site variance that make impossible reliance on blueprints or drawings for accurately trimming materials. Thus, at the construction site installers are continually measuring both the materials and target installation sites for the purpose of achieving proper fit and utilization of material.
Prior to the material's being fastened to its supporting structure another time consuming step or process must be followed. The piece must be aligned, measured and marked to display the location of the underlying support member to allow the installer to properly and securely attach the piece in accordance with building codes.
Today's construction practice employs automatic fastener systems such as magazine fed nail guns to quickly attach construction materials to their underlying support. Should the alignment of the fastener gun to the underlying and thus invisible support member be incorrectly accomplished, these powerful fastening systems can severely damage the surface material, requiring removal and replacement of the material, a waste of both labor and material; in the most severe instance, power driven fasteners have caused serious injury to other construction personnel working opposite the installation site. Thus it is poor practice to attempt to install even full-size sheets of material without measuring and marking the location of underlying support structure.
This repetitive and tedious measurement and marking of both full-size material items as well as remnants significantly slows installation of product, requiring additional time and expense. Additionally, if the material is not correctly marked at the job site, it may take extra fasteners to attach it to the final framework in conformance with building codes. Inspectors noting improperly spaced or attached fasteners require rework or other remedial action that further delays the job. Lastly, a further inadequacy of present on-site measurement procedures is that the constant use of tape measures, straight edges, snap lines, chalk, carpenter pencils and pens creates an additional supply and maintenance logistical problem for the builder. All these items wear out and need constant maintaining and replacing. It is time consuming to search for misplaced measuring tools, refill chalk line snap boxes with chalk and sharpen or replace worn out pens and pencils. In addition, the use of some tools such as snap line chalk can leave undesirable residue upon construction materials or foul subsequent finishing processes.